CIOs and their teams will need a change management strategy that embraces the can-do attitude and agile approaches that got employees working remotely in a timeframe never experienced before.

They will need a change management strategy to be future fit. This, according to Forrester, is a combination of being adaptive, resilient and creative. 

These are traits that have seen organisations not only survive previous crises such as the burst of the dot.com bubble in 2001-2002 and the global financial crisis of 2207-2008 but will also see them differentiate themselves as the winners, not losers, in this pandemic of 2020.

In this series of articles, I am going to explore what the change management strategy for IT  looks like and why it is needed.

CIO Business Partner

Back in 2016, Gartner estimated that by 2020, 100% of IT roles will require an intermediate level of proficiency in business acumen.

That starts with the CIO. The CIO has to move from being a functional leader to becoming a strategic leader.

This means developing deep business acumen. It will not be possible to deliver on a digital transformation without an in-depth understanding of the business. The CIO has to be a business partner.

In our digitised world, technology drives strategy. Today’s CIO has to be a business strategist. I

This is supported by research from Salesforce called “How CIOs are Becoming the New Agents of Change”. They found that the role to the CIO job was becoming less and less frequently through the IT organisation. Many CIOs are coming from business operations, business process outsourcing and product engineering. A CIO engaged in the research said “The CIO needs to know the business better than the business.

A Deloitte Insights report echoed this sentiment.

The invitation to the CIO is made pretty clear.

“They have a critical role in developing and fostering business strategy, and their readiness to leverage technology is a key competence. The challenge is also very clear: If they don’t step up, other leaders within the organization will likely take on these roles.”

The CIO’s role is not to create a digital strategy or vision. It is to embed digital in the business strategy. The are a partner to the CEO in driving business strategy.

The Deloitte Insights report concluded with this statement.

“CIOs who go beyond what their CEOs are asking of them can be valuable partners. Those who don’t could see themselves marginalized and overtaken by chief digital officers and others who are ready to accept a transformational role. A conversation needs to happen and will happen—and it’s up to the CIO to drive that conversation.”

Inside and out

The CIO has to learn the business inside and out. They have to partner with other C-suite executives and get visibility into their areas. With this insight, the CIO can map out the digital journey to support what these leaders are doing.

In collaboration with the C-suite leaders, the CIO can adapt and improve the digital approach to continuously meet the business requirements

In addition to meeting and partnering with the C-suite, the CIO can get extensive insights into the business by spending time with functional and business unit leaders and managers. This gives them an in-depth understanding of the realities of the business on the front-line.

They also need to know what the customer issues are. This can be gained by reviewing satisfaction reports, spending time in the call-centre, and participating in customer and user forums.

Business mind-set

Whilst technology will always be the foundation of the IT department, the mindset now has to shift to one of the business.

The CIO has to help the organisation find competitive advantage and stay ahead of the startups threat to business.

They need to drive revenue, contribute to financial goals and organisational growth.

Business advisor

The CIO is a business advisor - not just a technical one. The traditional CIO has been internally focused and advising on what technology the organisation needs for the workforce to become more productive and provide a technology support function.

When every organisation is a technology organisation, the CIO has a far more critical role. They will shift into an advisory role and guide the digital transformation of the enterprise.

Customer-first

The CIO has to have a customer-first approach to the digital strategy of the organisation. Traditionally, CIOs have supported the effort of others in the organisation who interact with the customer. If the CIO is going to deliver on digital transformation goals, they will have to engage directly with customers. The digital transformation has to be about the customer experience and delivering value.

Summary

Only a CIO that is business savvy, will be able to deliver on a digital strategy that will see the organisation become more efficient, profitable, competitive and successful.

The opportunities for the forward-looking, innovative and aspiring CIO are massive, as are the disasters for those who don’t develop their business savviness.